Synopsis:
MAN ON FIRE: John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a lost soul. A former government operative, he has become an alcoholic nomad, endlessly searching for inspiration and redemption. An old friend...
MAN ON FIRE: John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a lost soul. A former government operative, he has become an alcoholic nomad, endlessly searching for inspiration and redemption. An old friend (Christopher Walken) who lives in Mexico gets Creasy a job as a bodyguard for nine-year-old Lupita "Pita" Ramos (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of Mexican Samuel (Marc Anthony) and his American wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell). Creasy's primary job is to protect Pita from the kidnapping attempts that are an increasing menace to the children of Mexico City's wealthy. A man of few words and many secrets, Creasy initially balks at Pita's attempts to befriend him, but soon a bond grows between the precocious child and the lonely man who is tormented by his past. When Pita is kidnapped despite Creasy's valiant attempts to save her, he will do anything to bring all of those involved to justice. In the process, his fury unravels a net of almost unimaginable corruption and greed. Director Tony Scott (TOP GUN, CRIMSON TIDE) builds the relationship between Creasy and Pita in the first half of the film in order to justify Creasy's violent actions in the latter half, and does a fine job of keeping the film's tension consistently high.
HIDE AND SEEK: Dakota Fanning and Robert De Niro slug it out for top acting honors in this creepy psychodrama. After his wife is found dead in the bathtub, Manhattan psychologist David Callaway (De Niro) decides to take his traumatized child, Emily (Fanning), to live in a big, gloomy country house upstate. The shadow of the twisty backyard woods--or something darker--soon creeps over the house, and Emily finds a weird friend named Charlie, who her father believes is only imaginary. Charlie likes to play games, and is also very jealous of anyone who tries to come between Emily and her dad, like an attractive local divorcée (Elizabeth Shue) and Emily's New York psychiatrist (Famke Jannsen).
Director John Polson takes his time letting the little details of the story accrue in the patently somber tradition of directors like M. Night Shyamalan. John Ottman's score is spooky, the photography is drenched in warm colors, and the mood is relentlessly strange and unsettling. De Niro is fine as a wheezing, aging doctor who can't seem to fathom the extent to which his domestic situation has moved past his control. Of course there's a shocking twist or two, plenty of jolts, red herrings, and sinister woodland explorations (including a dark and foreboding cave), but the spookiest ingredient in this potboiler is the brilliant Fanning. With her jet black hair, pale skin, and wide blue eyes, she enters the realm of instant horror iconhood as the alternately frightened and frightening Emily. Other cast members include Dylan Baker as the local sheriff, and Amy Irving, who is excellent in her few scenes as Emily's mother.
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